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not gaining weight

OK so my little man isn't gaining weight. He is 3 weeks old and 6lb. He was 6 12 at birth. II have been breastfeeding mostly and the weird thing is he is having enough wet and poo diapers. But the doctor (vary pro breastfeeding ) was sad when she told me to start supplementing. She is also confused as to why he's not gaining if he's potty enough. Did anyone else have this problem I breastfeed as much as possible and always give the breast first than offer the bottle. (Usually if he drinks the bottle (formula ) he spits it up) we go to the doctor for a weight. Check in the morning.

Re: not gaining weight

Birth weight was 6lb 12 oz. When we left hospital he was 6lb 3 oz. Went to doctor he was 6 lb. 3 days later 6 lb 4oz. 4 days later back to 6 lb. We go in today to c if anything has changed. Its funny I I'm bteastfeeding all day long long it seems but when I do give him a bottle he will take an oz than spit it all back up. Heis kinda sleepy but I've been keeping him awake during eating and I can hear him eating but it doesn't seem filling enough and since noweigjt gain. Its just vary stressful right now. The doctor said his color is perfect everything is perfect but his weight.

Re: not gaining weight

He was a c section baby. Nursing is great. He's a Great latcher nice big mouth good sucking rate. No understanding why there's no weight gain when he's attached every second of the day. He never drains me tho he. Always falls asleep. My pump never drains me either. I can Always hand e xspress after feeding si I know when he stops hethinks he's done... well for 5 min anyway

Re: not gaining weight

Well he went up 4 oz again. I only use formula during the day. His diapers r the right amount. There seedie and grenosh yellow. I wish I didn't have to use formula. I do pump but I don't get enough. But. After I pump I can still get milk by hand. So I know he's not running out. I'm also taking. More milk and the fenugreek dead. So I don't know why I only pump so little.

Re: not gaining weight

Yeah, this is a head scratcher for me! When baby's diapers and general nursing behavior paint one picture and weight gain paints another, I start to wonder if the scales are off somehow. Is there any chance of you renting a professional baby scale and weighing the baby at home? One thing that really helped me when my first was little was doing a lot of weigh-feed-weigh records at home. They allowed me to gain a very accurate picture of how much milk she was taking in at a given feeding and over the course of the day, and when I needed to supplement and when I didn't.

Re: not gaining weight

Hi Manda3rae. It think mommal has given you a good idea for monitoring weight gain.

But I am confused on some things. How long have you been giving your baby formula and how much do you give baby?

This last 4 ounce gain-what was the time between weight checks?

A baby this age who is pooping normaly (4 or 5 a day, size of a quarter or bigger (not just a streak.) should be gaining weight. Obviously baby is getting milk or where did the poop come from? So I truly question these weights. If the weights are correct, the possibility that there is some illness or disorder or allergy causing poor weight gain should be considered.

One possibility is allergies-if your baby has a dairy or soy allergy, it could possibly cause poor weight gain even if breastfed (the proteins could pass into your milk, a situation that is fixed by mom eliminating dairy and possibly also soy from her diet.) Of course, formula is going to be a very big problem for a baby with dairy or soy allergies, so if this is the problem, it is important to keep breastfeeding.

But if a breastfed baby, especially one this young, does not get enough milk it is for one of 3 possible reasons: 1) Baby is unable to get milk out of the breast (poor latch or poor suck) 2) baby is not nursing frequently enough or 3) mother has low milk production, and had low production right from the start, which is very very rare. So of these, low milk production is the LEAST likely, yet it is the one everyone always blames. you don;t sauy how much you pump, which would be interesting to know, but it does not really matter-pump output is not am accurate measure of low milk production.

You say your baby is attached all day. If baby is not gaining well despite nursing at least 12 times a day, then the next step would be to find out if it might be a milk transfer problem. Can you see a IBCLC (board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC?) Breastfeeding needs to be assessed.

Re: not gaining weight

I usually get an ounce when I pump.from both. Only one oz. My left side barley gives me anything. We go for our weight checks every 3 days. And I'm talking when they fill full and hard I still only get an ounce. I figure with the two more milk by motherlove and the seeds. I would be over production. But I'm not saying I have low supply. Its hard with the formula.cause sometimes he will only take an ounce but than spits it back up sometimes he drink two oz and be fine. He's such a weird baby.